Area residents are invited to take a tour of the Eastern Kings Wind Farm construction site this Sunday, November 26. Bus tours will leave from the Eastern Kings Community Centre on Munn’s Road at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
“This wind farm will be an important part of the Community of Eastern Kings so I’m pleased to provide an opportunity for local residents to visit the site,” said Minister of Environment, Energy and Forestry Jamie Ballem.
Andy Mooney, MLA for District 1 – Souris-Elmira, asked Minister Ballem to arrange the tours after getting numerous calls from people interested in getting a first-hand view of the project when it’s under construction.
“Residents driving by the site and those who live nearby have seen the turbines go up and they are anxious to get a close look at how the wind farm is built,” said Mr. Mooney.
A 400-tonne crane is used to assemble the wind turbines. Designed especially to build wind farms, the crane came from Ontario in 15 tractor trailers and was put together onsite.
Minister Ballem said it’s been a priority of Government from the outset of the wind farm project to maximize benefits to the local community and all Islanders. All of the turbines have been placed on private property and local landowners will receive 2.5 per cent of the gross revenue from the wind farm. As well, the Community of Eastern Kings will receive $25,000 each year from the wind farm profits.
Nine of the 10 turbines at the Eastern Kings Wind Farm have now been erected. High winds over the last several weeks caused a slight delay in construction. However, the wind farm is still expected to be in operation by the end of the year. The 30-megawatt farm will provide 7.5 per cent of Prince Edward Island’s electricity – enough energy to power 12,000 homes. It will also cut 75,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually – the equivalent of taking 16,000 cars off the road.